Shattered Reflections
by OliveTree53
Summary: An unwanted internship at Kaiba Corp. is the last thing you needed. What happens when two stubborn geniuses collide? Will your personalities clash forever? Or will you and Seto learn to appreciate the mirroring qualities within one another? This is a story about you and Seto's reluctant budding romance and all of the unbearable tension that comes with it.
1. Chapter 1

At the deserted intersection of Kaiba-Corp. Blvd. and Domino Ave., the young CEO of Kaiba Corporation sat wearily in his custom designed Koenigsegg as he waited patiently for the traffic signal to change.

Overcome with exhaustion, he closed his eyes for a brief moment but promptly regained his composure as a flash of green illuminated his cabin. As the car accelerated towards the local highway, his younger brother, Mokuba, begin to recipe a summary of a long-drawn report that was submitted earlier this evening. Seto Kaiba straightened in his seat as he struggled to listen, adding yet another task to his already overflowing agenda.

The well-known workaholic expected nothing less than extraordinary from all of his employees, and as their leader, he strives to be perfect example of that exact philosophy. The success of Kaiba Corp. had nothing to do luck, he reminded himself, but was the result of his determination and backbreaking labor.

As Mokuba concluded the last few details of the report, Seto redirected his attention to the digital display on the dashboard.

[2:34AM]

'_Four and a half hours.'_ He thought quietly to himself, that's all the sleep he's going to get after an agonizing 21-hour workday.

Running his fingers through his dark chestnut hair, Seto slowly eased onto his expansive driveway and proceeded to gently shake his little brother awake. Leaving the warm comfort of his car, an unexpected wave of adrenaline rushed through Seto's body as he stepped into the frigid night air. The sudden release of hormones triggered by the freezing temperature tricked his body into fight or flight mode. If only he could recreate this sensation again; like first time he held a Blue Eyes White Dragon card; that day when Kaiba Corp. was forcefully relinquished by his adoptive father; and the countless times he was pitted against Atem, his only worthwhile adversary who, against Seto's will, missed dearly.

'_Stop it._' Seto cautioned himself as he stepped into the front foyer of his enormous mansion. Pressing his fingers firmly against his burning temple, Seto cleared his mind of these unhappy thoughts. Looking forward instead to the much needed, albeit brief, rest he's going to get.

"Mr. Kaiba?" Seto's moment of tranquility was interrupted as a maid called for his attention. Seto glanced tiredly at his servant as she placed a heavy stack of folders in his outstretched hand. "It came about an hour ago, Mr. Duvall said it's urgent." she informed hurriedly before returning to her night-shift duties.

'_Two and a half hours.'_ Seto sighed as he dragged himself to his home office, eyeing defeatedly at the folder of work he now must complete.

* * *

On the opposite side of the world, an Aerion-SB private jet sat idle on the misty runway, waiting to be given the clearance for take off. Finally able to put your hard-earned pilot license to good use, you wondered if the board of commissioners had made a huge mistake when they authorized you, a newly certified 23-year-old, to fly yourself across the Pacific Ocean.

Looking forward to the flight, you carefully adjusted the myriad of controls in your cockpit as the jet took off.

A breathtaking view of the sky and city emerged before your eyes as the plane climbed towards the upper strata. Savoring the next few hours of solace, you sipped on some ice water as the plane ascended steadily through the clouds, slowly reaching it's the optimum cruising altitude. No amount of serenity, however, could distract you from the infamous air traffic that awaited you at the Domino-Narita Airport. _'If I crash…'_ you shuddered at the thought, wondering if you had made rash decision to solo this flight.

* * *

The next morning, Seto barely had the chance to settle in his chair before a knock sounded at his door, no doubt another line of people eager for his audience.

"The profiles of the new research interns, Mr. Kaiba." Roland said as he handed his somnolent young boss a small tablet. Struggling to see, Seto maneuvered away from the windows and motioned for the curtains to be drawn, shielding his sore eyes from the rays of sunlight. "The HR department requests that you personally vet the candidates before they proceed on to the final selection process." Roland continued as Seto begrudgingly sipped on a cup of black coffee, absentmindedly scanning through the list of applicants.

Groaning quietly to himself, Seto downed a tall glass of water to chase down the disgusting taste of coffee. Avoiding external stimulants is an integral part of his self-reliance philosophy. But with so much to do and so little time, Seto desperately needed this extra boost of energy just to maintain his usual functionality.

…_Adisa Mmeremikwu – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Engineering;_

_Amir Al-Aswad – King Abdulaziz University, Aerodynamic Systems;_

_Hanshi Li – Beijing University, Organic Chemistry;_

_Joseph Warren – Harvard, Political Science;_

_Landon Brighton – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robotics;_

_Priyanka Laghari – Harvard, Biomedical Engineering;_

_Sophia Perez – University of São Paulo, Neurophysiology;_

_William Evans – Cambridge, Cor…_

"Mr. Kaiba," interrupted Hiroka, his executive secretary, through his earpiece. "Vice President Howard from U.S. EnGen will be 20 minutes late for the merger negotiations, apparent they encountered a traffic accident on Minami-Kyushu expressway."

Unable to trudge through the rest of the applicants with more pressing matters on hand, "I don't have time for this nonsense". Seto groaned as he shoved the tablet back into Roland's waiting hands and redirected his attention to a memo notification.

[Attn: S. Kaiba. Scheduled interview with Ruth Umoh (Forbes Magazine) has been moved forward from 11:00AM to 9:30AM].

"Tell Howard he better be in the conference room by 7:50." Seto ordered through his earpiece, now even more pressed for time than he already was. "Let Mokuba deal with this," he then instructed, pointing at the tablet in Roland's hands. "But don't wake him up before 9:30." Unlike him, Mokuba has could afford a few more hours of sleep.

Having no more for Roland, Seto dismissed him with a curt tilt of his chin toward the door and re-busied himself with the tasks ahead.

* * *

The purring white noise of the jet plane was interrupted as your headphone buzzed with a string of jarring chatter from air traffic control. Praying to the pantheon of aeronautical gods, you breathed a huge sigh of relief as the wheels of the Aerion-SB gently touched ground and proceeded with a surprisingly smooth landing.

"Welcome to Tokyo, Ms. Romanoff. 東京へようこそ." A chauffer and two security personnel bowed courteously as you stepped off the air-stair ladder. "How was your flight?" The driver asked kindly as you climbed into the backseat of the waiting Rolls-Royce. "Uneventful." You shrugged, uneventful thanks to your superb autopilot system.

Arriving at the district of Ginza, in the heart of the Tokyo metropolis, you scanned rather disappointingly at all of the luxury boutiques and Michelin starred restaurant that lines the streets. While you enjoyed your previous trips to this country, you were never overly fond of the crowdedness that came with it. Bustling cities like this are great for the occasional overnight visit, but ideally, you would've preferred a more idyllic environment for the extended stay.

*Click*

The keyless remote worked like a charm as the front door of your new residence unlocked effortlessly. Lacking none of the creature comforts and conveniences you've grown so accustomed to, the modestly decorated two-story apartment was much more welcoming in person than you had previously expected. Grateful for not having to be packed like sardines with the rest of the exchange students, you happily tipped the bellboy a paycheck's worth of money (well, he did do a damn good job unloading your luggage) and smiled as he took it excitedly. Looking around, admittedly, the place lacked some square-footage. But honestly, it's much more preferable than your brother's lavishly furnished penthouse on Park Avenue, NY city. "And no roommates." You smiled again, looking out the window of your living room, taking in the breathtaking view of the bustling city below as you stood atop the most exclusive residential high-rise in Japan's most expensive district.

* * *

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba smiled as Seto stepped off the elevator following his Forbes interview. "Front page again?" he chirped happily as he followed his older brother down the main basement corridor. But Seto, as usual, ignored everyone around him and made a beeline straight towards lab D-78.

"Ishida!" He called as soon as he entered room, causing the entire staff to halt to a standstill.

"Dr. Ishida is at lunch, si…sir." The senior technician stammered timidly, completely caught off guard by Seto's suddenly appearance.

Looking around, Seto's expression darkened as he spotted multiple batches of unfinished optics tracker littering haphazardly around the lab. "Why aren't they done?" Seto asked as Mokuba handed him a broken tracker, thoroughly frustrated at the lack of progress he's seeing.

"Dr. Ishida said he'll work on it after lunch sir." Another technician answered.

Wrong Answer.

Ishida should know better; breaks are only reserved for people who have earned them, and right now, the only thing Ishida earned is a loud scolding and a huge pay-cut.

Knowing his brother have no qualms about firing the entire staff over one person's mistake, "Well you better go find him before Seto gets angry!" Mokuba shouted as he sneakily kicked another broken tracker under the table so Seto wouldn't notice.

Just then, a middle-aged man burst through the heavy-laden doors, almost knocking over an intern as he does so. And with one look from his boss, Ishida knew he was in for an epic ass-chewing. Although it was only a momentary absence, he knew that any excuses or apologies made to Seto will no doubt be made in vain.

"I-"

"Save it!" Seto snapped, cutting short whatever Ishida's pathetic attempt at an apology was going to be. Staring down at the program director, Seto snatched up a yellow piece of paper and inquired sharply. "What is this?".

"The packing slips from the German delivery." Ishida answered.

"When was it?"

"Yesterday."

"At what time?" Seto continued mockingly, staring at timestamp beside the receiving signature.

"At... 6:04AM sir."

"What time is it right now?"

Catching onto Seto's point, Ishida inhaled deeply.

"It's now 1:38PM." Ishida sighed.

"I thought I had it quite clear I wanted these done within 10 hours of delivery."

"But Sir!" Ishida protested "These trackers need to be disassembled before we can begin the instillation! That takes a really long time!"

Irritated with this delay, no, this easily avoidable delay, Seto narrowed his eyes. "DR. Ishida," he emphasized, "I paid extra for those lenses to be custom made so you DON'T have to do any disassembling." The tracker in Seto's hand cracked in two as he glared at the cowering man. "Did you even bother reading the manual?" Noticing a still shrink-wrapped protocol manual laying on the desk beside him, Seto answered his own question.

"These trackers better assembled and operational by 6:00PM this evening or you're all fired." He barked, tossing two pieces of broken tracker onto the nearest workbench.

These are suppose to be top-of-the-line employees, how do they consistently manage fuck up even the simplest of things? _'If this is the level of talent available at Kaiba Corp, then the rest of the world must be overrun with packs of idiot toddlers.'_ Seto fumed as he marched back to his office and resumed his work at his desk, neglecting Mokuba's offer to have lunch with him.


	2. Chapter 2

The very next morning, a brand-new Aston Martin One-77 sat purring on the driveway as you stepped out into the nicely heated portico, a gift from your older brother, Mikhail, no doubt. Refusing to be chauffeured around like some delicate little glass doll, and eager to avoid the city's infamous subway stampede, you cheerfully hopped into the driver's seat and sped off in your new $3 million dollar toy. A little excessive by your standards perhaps but trying to convince Mikhail otherwise would take more effort than you were willing to invest.

The blue, red, and purple hues of the setting sun blended seamlessly into the darkening sky, providing the perfect backdrop for the towering Tokyo skyline. Clueless about what's going on outside, drip by drip, you monitored the last few drops extraction eluent carefully as it trickled into the prepared flask.

"So hey, uh, we're all going out drink later tonight if you wann-"

"No." you interrupted, barely hiding the aggravation in your voice.

It's been scarcely a week since you started your stint here as an exchange student at Tokyo university (TKU), and you've already had to reject more invitations to hangout than you can count.

"I need to concentrate." You sighed, tapping a pencil against your tight, waiting impatiently for the experiment to end. While you appreciated their gesture of extending an invitation, it's more so annoying because they always manage to ask at a bad time.

Tapped a pencil against your thigh, you waited impatiently for the experiment to end.

"No, I told you already, I'm seeing someone."

After rejecting yet another the invitation to date, you removed yourself and hunkered down in the most secluded corner of the lab, sick of being pestered by the masses. So what if you looked like that new Victoria's Secret model? Being praised for something you're born with isn't as meaningful as the hard earned degree you're about to receive. _'Maybe I should get myself a ring.'_ You sighed, wondering if that'll be enough of deterrent.

Startled by the sudden laughter from your classmates, _'This is a lab not a bar. STFU!'_ Your glared daggers at everyone as you massaged the your head to sooth the throbbing headache. Deciding it's worth the taking the risk, you cranked your headphone volume to as high as it can go, screw hearing damage.

_'Can't believe Kaiba allows this ridiculousness to be broadcasted.'_ You mused as the commentary from the Battle City rerun drowned out the noisy background distractions. While not a duelist yourself, watching teenagers scream at each other over a card game would always be preferred over the background chatter in the lab; although Marik Ishtar and Yugi Mutou's little hooky-spooky back and forth about shadow realm is getting a bit out of hand.

Ignoring Marik and Yugi's long drawn supernatural debate, you refocused on the organic extraction, thinking about the nice big bowl of ramen you gonna treat yourself with as soon as you escape this place.

Twenty miles away on the outskirts of Domino City in the eastern Tokyo Metropolis, Seto Kaiba sat alone in his home office as he poured over the data sent in by his senior analyst. _'Why isn't this working?' _Seto groaned exasperatedly at the failed prototype and closed his eyes in frustration. The software and model simulations ran perfectly just 3 hours ago. What the hell happened? Knowing there's nothing he can do until this gets resolved by the forensic analysts tomorrow, Seto resigned and rested his head against his hands.

Feeling lightheaded, Seto leaned back against his soft leather chair and loosened the top few buttons of his dress shirt. The cuff of his sleeves stretched tightly against his forearms as he raised his hands and held them behind his head. Taking in a deep breath, Seto wondered how much more of this stress he could stomach. Walking over to the balcony for some fresh air, Seto shivered slightly as the winter breeze swirled around him, ruffling his hair. Taking moment to himself, Seto relaxed against the icy railing. Feeling like a hollow versions of his former self, Seto glanced at his reflection in the window pane. Despite the harsh personality he had imparted onto the world, deep down, Seto is just a normal man. He, like everyone else, secretly craved love and reassurance, craved for a person who he can trust and loves him unconditionally. But that's impossible, there's none out there with the emotional intelligence to see past his assholery.

"Who am I kidding." Seto scoffed at his thoughts. Survival of the fittest, vulnerabilities are nothing but a man's fatal weakness.

Stifling a yawn as he resigned to calling it a night, Seto returned to his office and slammed shut laptop. Passing by Mokuba in the living room, Seto hid his bitter disappointment at yet another failure as he patted his brother on the head. "Everything ok Seto?" Mokuba asked as he glanced up from his book. "Yeah..." he smiled, taking a seat beside his brother.

Seto's cavernous bedroom bathed in the morning sun as the automatic curtains parted from the floor-to-ceiling windows. A knock could be heard rapping lightly on his the bedroom door. "Seto, time to wake up." the elderly maid, Marla, called out softly, balancing an armful of his clothes in her hands.

"No." Seto groaned grouchily, almost childish-like, refusing to open his eyes. "Come on sweetie, your breakfast is waiting." She cooed, patting him lightly on the cheek. Relinquishing his right to sleep, Seto sat up groggily as Marla fussed around about the room. If it wasn't for the fact that she's been around since his adoption, Seto would've thrown her out in an instant for addressing him as "sweetie." Instantly, greeted by a pounding headache, Seto pushed his hair back with his hands as he dragged his way into the bathroom.

Propping his hands against the sink, Seto raised his head and sighed at his reflection; a pair of bloodshot eyes stared back at him, slightly obscured by a bed of messy brown hair.

_'Slept in my work clothes again...'_

Removing his expensive wristwatch and setting it aside, Seto lumbered his way towards the shower as he tossed aside his wrinkled dress shirt and pants. Stepping onto the heated tiles, he closed his eyes as a jet of icy water pour over his face.

_'Looks like I'll be needing another coffee today.'_

He sighed as he leaned against the walls of his enormous shower.

"Internships in your respective fields are a requirement while you attend the University of Tokyo." Tanaka-sensi announced, "We pride ourselves in graduating students who are not only intelligent but are also diligent and experienced. You are here because you were deemed to be the best of the best by your superiors and fellow students, now go out there and prove that you are worthy of representing our prestigious university…. blah blah blah blah blah." Your brain fuzzed after Tanaka reached the 10-minute mark.

Internships? What a joke. Why would anyone think this is a good idea? If it wasn't to fulfill your graduation requirements, you would've never subjected yourself to this level of absurdity.

"…and please submit your resume and the preferred vocations to Hiro-sensi by the end of this Friday." Takana concluded, handing out information packets and left the classroom promptly.

An eruption of chatter followed.

"...I've already contacted the HR at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, who are you applying to?"

"...did you hear? Kaiba Corp isn't accepting anymore interns this year", "That sucks! I really wanted to work there!", "Doesn't everyone?"

"My uncle works at Toyota Motor, he's the vice director of the engineering departm...".

Your frown deepened as you seriously considered giving a generous "donation" in exchange for waiving this ridiculous requirement. _'Nah, too risky.'_ You shook your head at the thought, there's a witchhunt frenzy going on out there for rich kids with college briberies.

_'Shimadzu would be ok but they're known to be inflexible when it comes to schedules. Maybe Brown and Caldwell is hiring, but they don't have a regional office here. Hmm, I could give Industrial Illusions a shot, but Pegasus seems a little...'_

"Fuck it." You snapped, unable to make a decision. Looks like you be calling your big brother for help again.

By that afternoon you had put forth your resume to the largest biotechnology company there currently is on the market, MoSAIC, for an internship at their the Tokyo subbranch. '_Why the hell am I APPLYING?' _You scowled at the application process; you're on MoSAIC's board of directors! Mikhail is the owner and CEO! And by the rules of siblings, that means you're an owner as well, although you assume no responsibility on the business end of things. Yes this extra step is tedious but necessary, being hired without going through a formal application process may arouse some unwanted suspicion.

Unlike your outgoing brother, you disliked any attention and hid away from the public prying eye; going as far as to change your name to conceal your true identity. Even with tantalizing beauty and an obscene amount of money, you still gladly traded a life of fame in the limelight for far more worthwhile activities. You were always far more comfortable working from behind the scenes anyways where you're free to enjoyed your solitude.

Pressing [SEND] as you breathed a huge sigh of relief, you wrongfully assumed you've just cheated your way out of a huge set back. But little did you know, in your blissfully ignorant state, you've completely underestimated your brother's propensity to make a joke out of every situation not matter the severity of the consequences.

Impatient for the elevator, the young CEO stormed down the long flights of stairs towards the first floor of his building, hell-bent on finding the person responsible for last night's failure.

Kaiba Corp is the frontier innovator for all visual gaming products around the world, amassing a legion of eager and loyal fans along the way. The culmination of these small but constant delays was severely hindering the scheduled unveiling of their latest product. This level of setback was not only an embarrassment to the company, but also to Seto Kaiba himself.

For months, Seto and his team has been working hard on their next innovation, incorporating the otherwise perfected Duel Disk-X with an upgraded laser-tracing iris system. This macular enhancing system is designed to improve visual holographic projections without warping the image proportions. And if successful, this could open the door to of a whole new field science.

"We've pinpointed the source of the problem Mr. Kaiba, it's an error from the robotics department." Roland reported as he scurried alongside Seto. "Director Schmidt thinks it's one of the new interns from Tokyo sir."

"Tell his family to have his casket ready."

"Uh, ye-yes sir."

Roland shook his head out of pity, the poor kid has no idea what's coming, it's better to face death than to face Mr. Kaiba's wrath and fury after a mistake of this magnitude.

"Sorry Seto, please forgive me, I should've looked into their profiles more carefully," Mokuba muttered apologetically as he pleaded before Seto's desk, hanging his head low in an attempt to avoid his big brother's searing gaze. "Just pay attention next time." Seto growled, as much as he wanted to reprimand Mokuba for making such a critical error in his judgement, he can't bring himself to fully blame his baby brother.

For the next while, instead, Seto unleashed the full fury of his inner Obelisk the Tormentor onto the poor intern and his graduate advisor; not ceasing even after he was sure they both had severe mental breakdowns.

Slamming his hand on the table after terminating the conference call, Seto couldn't contain his rage any longer. Mokuba flinched as Seto flung an uncapped pen over his head, lodging it into the opposite wall. "Because of that idiot, we now have to start all over!" He barked, it's been quite a while since he's been this angry; not exactly the type of adrenalin rush he was hoping for.

Just as he was ready to hurl something else around, the beeping of an automated reminder stopped Seto from causing any further damage to his surroundings; in 15 minutes, he's to meet with an important investor.

Trying to find some inner peace, Seto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"M..Mr. Kaiba sir, you have a call from Tokyo University on line t..two." secretary Hiroka stammered through his earpiece.

"Then hang up the phone!" Seto said derisively as if Hiroka should've known that. "But the Chancellor is calling in personally to give his apolo-", "I don't care." Seto growled, thoroughly agitated by her audacity to continue disturbing him with this.

"He would like to renegotiate the terms of internship employment sir and is asking to send in a replacement." She added quickly as the Chancellor behested on her other line.

"Sir?" Hiroka asked shakily after receiving nothing but stunned silence from the Seto. Taking a deep breath, she relayed the final part of the message, "He also said to please manage your expectations, the whole point of an internship is for the inexperienced to make mistakes and learn from them, besides, they're only college students..." Hiroka trailed off, regretting letting those words out of her mouth.

"Say that again?" Seto asked, dumbfounded.

"They're sending a replacement sir. Her name is Ana Romanof-"

"That's not what I'- Forget it!"

Seto barked as he ripped off his earpiece. "Manage my expectations?" He huffed, clinching his hands tightly.

_'They must be dumber than Wheeler to think I would even…'_

"And what if I say no?" He hissed, replacing his headphones.

"They're threatening a lawsuit."

"What for!?"

"For employee discrimination and abuse."

"What? When did Kaiba Corp dis-"

Seto suddenly closed his eyes and leaned backward against his chair as he realized what the Chancellor meant. The problem isn't the lawsuit, people sue him over stupid shit like this every day, the real problem is the underlying message. If word gets out, if the press gets a wind of this, a media frenzy is bound to follow. Picturing the absurd headlines in his head, Seto groaned. Teetering on brink of the huge finance setback due the overwhelming amount of blunders and delays, Kaiba Corp could not afford to garner any attention that puts them in a negative light, especially not over some petty false drama like this.

With so much leveraging against him, Seto had no choice but comply.

"Fine," He acceded, holding back his trembling anger. "But tell him this, whether he sends me another idiot or the President of the United States himself; rest assured, I will make sure their life is a living hell."


	3. Chapter 3

The silence of your kitchen was abruptly shattered as a glass of water slipped from your fingers. The sound of broken glass rang in your ears as you maneuvered around the sharp pieces of shrapnel now scattered precariously around your feet.

Already fuming over MoSAIC's rejection letter for your application that Mikhail had conveniently forgot to approve until after the deadline. You are now mortified to find an acceptance letter bearing Kaiba Corp.'s logo in your inbox.

"Is this another one of your jokes?!"

"What joke?" Mikhail asked, having already been chewed out over the one he actually pulled.

"Kaiba Corp.? Really?" You scoffed. "Very funny."

"Kaiba Corp.? What are you taking about?" You frowned, either Mikhail's been taking acting lessons, or he genuinely had no part in this.

"Dear Ms. Ana Romanoff," you begin reading the email, reciting flatly into the receiver of your headphone. "I, Seto Kaiba, am pleased to inform you of your acceptance into Kaiba Corporation's highly competitive Internship Program. This offer, however, is only for an interim position and will terminate two weeks following your start date. Formal acceptance into the program will be contingent upon the results of your KCAT exam, to be administered anytime within the two week period. The purpose of this merit-based exam is for us to assess the level of intellectual breadth and resourcefulness you possess, and for me to determine your value as an employee to my company. Until then, I congratulate yo- wow you really put a lot of work into this huh?" You were actually impressed by Mikhail's skillful portrayal of Kaiba. "Sounds just like him."

"I would never put that much work into sounding like an egomaniac."

"Whatever, stop lyin- wait, hold on a minute." You stopped abruptly to as another email notification popped on your screen.

"…scheduled for Monday the 16th at 7:30AM with Fujiko Hiroka… blah blah will receive details of your job description and assigned office area. Please register 2 days in advance for your temporary access card. We are located on 325 Kaiba Corp Blvd., Domino City, Tokyo Prefectu…. Ok, this isn't funny anymore." Never one to beat a dead horse, you knew it wasn't Mikhail; it's unlike him to put forth this level of commitment on such a bad joke. "Oh shit, this is for real…"

And with one last confirmation email from Tokyo University, your fate with Kaiba Corp was sealed.

"Look on the bright side! You can now take my revenge for me!" Mikhail laughed evilly, but to you, his personal sentiments wasn't very well received.

"I doubt I'll even run into him. This is Seto Kaiba we're talking about, the man doesn't loiter, not even in his own building."

"Whatever, just make sure you put some arsenic in his tea every morning."

Neither of you wanted this; Mikhail because of his personal grudge against Kaiba, and you, well, because now you'll have to work.

"They can't force me to do this! I didn't even apply there! It's not my fault some idiot screwed things up!"

"That's Japan for ya, things work differently there." Mikhail sighed, sharing your sympathy; the scrupulous work culture in Japan could easily drive someone crazy.

And for the rest of the week, in an effort to offset this inconvenience with some form of personal compensation, you artfully negotiated with your professors for leniency on all assignments for the duration of your internship; as if you were just going to accept this job without a fight.

* * *

A shadow skimmed across your periphery as you approached the front entrance of Kaiba Corp.'s building. Resembling the lions guarding the Forbidden City, a pair of colossal animatronic Blue-Eyes towered over the main gate as you ascended the stairs towards the main entrance.

_'And I thought Mikhail's ex-girlfriend was over the top…'_

Glancing up at the giant rotunda, you couldn't help but scoff at the ludicrous spectacle before your eyes; panoramic holographic projections of Kaiba and his duel monsters swirled around the atrium, stretching all the way up to the top floor, ending right beneath the domed glass ceiling. Workers dressed in stylish uniforms scuttled about the building, taking care not to crash into one another. The sounds of their shuffling of their feet drowned out by the latest electronic music.

These attention-grabbing decorations were never high on the list of priorities at MoSAIC, which, unlike Kaiba Corp, limited their services to exclusive clienteles like hospitals, research labs and government facilities. Or as Mikhail liked to joke. "Like Mary from down the street would buy a car sized MRI to put in her living room."

Stepping away from the garish display, you followed the directions per the email and arrived on the 60th floor. Judging from the minimalistic but expensive furnishings with zero offices or cubicles, you surmise this is level must house some top level Kaiba Corp. shit.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

You suspicion was quickly confirmed as you spotted a large silver engraving atop the receptionist's desk. [Office of Directors]. Entering reception area with newfound apprehension, you wondered why you, an insignificant intern, was summoned to the executive office of all places. Unnerved by this situation, you surveyed your surroundings. "Good morning. Ana Romanoff, here for my 7:30 appointment with...Hiroka?" You trailed off slightly. Who is this Fujiko Hiroka anyways? The email never specified her job title.

The receptionist, to your surprise, acknowledged your statement without glancing at his appointment book. "This way Ms. Romanoff." He smiled, "Executive Secretary Hiroka will be seeing you."

_'Executive?'_

You followed silently as the young man lead you down a well-furnished but eerily vacant hallway. After a couple twists and turns in the maze of identical hallways, you quickly grew bored. _'Where is the security staff?'_ you wondered, turning left to another equally vacant hallway. _'What if I'm some kind of serial killer? Ooo bet these hallways would make for an awesome first-person shooter.'_

Distracted by your wandering thoughts, you nearly slammed into the receptionist as he halted abruptly before a set of frosted glass doors. "My apologies." He said flatly as you regained your composure, "But Mrs. Hiroka is actually out of the office today."

"Ok?" Alarm bells rang as you eyed him with suspicion, "You JUST now remembered this because…?" He's either the shittiest receptionist on the planet or you're about to be murdered.

Without answering your question, the robot-like receptionist moved to click something in his hands and the frost instantly cleared revealing a dark hallway behind. "But not to worry, someone else will be expecting you instead."

You whirled around quickly for clarifications but the man had already disappeared behind the corner. Taking a few steps into the windowless tunnel, whatever few recess lighting it had suddenly darkened. Feeling like you're in an episode of the twilight zone, you looked back and forth between the two ends of the hallway, contemplating your next move.

'Maybe I'll take a stab at the whole college bribery thing.' You considered seriously as your hands muddled in the dark, feeling around your new designer tote for your phone. Too bad "designer" meant style over functionality.

Unable to locate your phone, you groaned quietly. "Fuck it." You snapped and marched towards the door-like fixture at the end of the dimly lit hallway. Biting your lips to calm your sudden nervousness, you gently rapped on the door.

*Creeeeeak*

A ray of harsh morning sunlight penetrated your eyes as the door swung open from the inside. Accustomed to the hazy lighting of your apartment and just now the damn bat cave of a hallway, your delicate eyes well with tears.

_'What's going on?' _This all seemed too farfetched, too deliberate, and too much like an interrogation scene from a movie. _'Something is definitely up.' _Keeping your hands free, and with a slight tilt of your head, you shielded eyes with your hair instead.

"Is this it?" a low husky voice drawled from somewhere in the room.

_'Seto Kaiba?!'_

Squinting and straining your eyes towards the direction of the sound, you could make out the blurry outline of a man insouciantly lounging behind his desk, his facial features obscured from the backlight of his enormous floor to ceiling window.

"Hmph." You scoffed quietly at his pitiful attempt of an intimidation._ 'Come on now, you can do better than that.'_

Presuming that the sitting figure must indeed be Kaiba, you gave him a deep, somewhat curt bow.

"Good morning Mr. Kaiba, I'm An-"

"Who cares." Seto snapped, "Go bore someone else with your introductions".

You startled, slightly taken aback by his abrupt rudeness. Unused to being spoken to so derisively, your lips curled into a mocking sneer. "Of course, sir." You smiled, focusing on his face as your vision slowly readjusted. "Had I known you'd done so much research about me, I would have given you the same courtesy."

The corner of Seto's eyes twitched slightly, betraying his momentary annoyance his otherwise impassive face had been masking perfectly. "Roland, call MIT and ask why they keep sending me these idiots?" he mocked.

"My apologies Mr. Kaiba." You interrupted, ready comebacks. "But MIT didn't want to waste the talents of their better students so needlessly." And with that said, the both of you locked eyes, glaring at each other mercilessly. Through your periphery, you could see Roland shifting uncomfortably as the ambiance of the room took a deep dive. 'It's definitely not the worst thing that's ever been said to Mr. Kaiba.' Roland thought, wiping a bead of sweat form his forehead. 'But this level of disrespect, from a subordinate!'

But unbeknownst to Roland, your unflinching steadiness not only ignited an intense burst of irritation, but simultaneously aroused Seto's immediate interest. Like a lion stalking his prey, you could sense Seto's piercing blue eyes boring deeper and deeper into your soul as he laced his fingers before him, searching for any cracks, any signs of weakness. Eyes still stinging with pain from the blast of sunlight, you are no match for Seto's unrelenting glare. Unwilling to be the first one to look away, your eyelids flickered as you teetered on the verge of losing to Seto's trance like gaze.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba shouted, bursting through the office door.

_'Oh thank GOD!' _Grateful for the sudden interruption, you quickly closed your eyes and allowed sweet sweet tears to quench your burning irises.

"What is it Mokuba?" Seto asked, looking away, but not before catching your little teary moment. "Schmidt and Ishida are looking for you, they're waiting for you in your conference room." The younger Kaiba responded, turning a curious gaze towards as you stood almost crying next to him.

"Mmhmm." Seto nodded as he stood from his chair, the height of the man made him far more intimidating than you had anticipated. Brushing past without even glancing your way, Seto cast a dismissive wave in your general direction. "Handle this." He ordered to no one in particular, as if asking someone to take out the trash.

"Sure Seto!"

_'Handle me? Why yo– and what the fuck is he so happy about?' _You rolled your eyes at Mokuba as he answered his brother cheerfully. _'I'll grab some arsenic from my lab tonight an-'_

"Oh, and Romanov?" Seto called from the now brightly lit hallway with his back still facing you, interrupting your tirade of murderous thoughts. "It's Romanoff." You corrected, taking care to not hide your annoyance.

Bestowing you with one last mocking stare, Seto smirked. "Better luck next time."


	4. Chapter 4

"So you're the new intern huh? Look, I'm supposed to show you around Kaiba Corp, so if you'll quit stalling..." Mokuba tapped his foot impatiently as he scolded your silence.

"My apologies Mr. Kaiba." Wiping the tears from your cheeks, you apologized with the upmost sincerity having taken a few seconds too long to recover your eyes for Mokuba's liking. "Watashi no koto o yoroshikuonegaishimasu (please take care of me)."

"That's right! You know, I'm not just Seto's younger brother, but I'm also the Vice President of Kaiba Corp." Used to being addressed as _Mr. Mokuba, _the teenager smiled proudly at your referral of him and pointed at his shiny name-badge.

_'Oh, you're his brother alright.'_

Concealing an eyeroll as he led you back down the darkened hallway, you sincerely hoped Mokuba meant what he said when he promised he would show you something worthwhile and interesting.

But alas, your hope was betrayed as Mokuba wore down your patience with an absurdly long and tedious excursion around Kaiba Corp.

"Oh wow, I had no clue… mhmm... so cool... yeah, totally awesome."

Your blasé expression and mocking reactions did nothing to deter Mokuba as he explained away at every little detail about the various inner workings and departments at Kaiba Corp; the length of his speals and his skillful bull-shitting puts all those late night infomercials to shame.

Suffering from fatigue and hunger as the 6th hour drew near for this pointless tour, you dare a question that has been on plaguing you since the very beginning.

"Pardon my interruption Mr. Kaiba, but do you guys do this all the time? For all of your interns?" You asked, trying to sound polite though fuming on the inside; Kaiba Corp isn't exactly known for their welcoming atmosphere, in fact, you half expected to be thrown into the wolf pit on the first day and fend for yourself until you were deemed a worthy employee (at least that's what you were told by the reviews online).

"Not exactly, but since you're a late addition to the team, we just wanted to make sure you're caught up to everything." Mokuba answered without missing a beat, as if he were expecting this question all along.

_'Riiiight, cut the horse-crap kid.'_

You begrudgingly expressed your gratitude for Mokuba taking his oh-so precious time to show you the rounds though secretly offended by his assumption that you would fall for such a lame and blatant lie.

However, in truth, Mokuba was merely following Seto's orders that's all; lending a helping hand to his big bro to find out what makes you, the unwanted new intern, tick. Unfortunately for him, your guarded personality only allowed for surface level interactions as Mokuba tried to engage you on more personal topics. Unable to progress beyond the typical pleasantries, let alone diving into more private matters, Mokuba has opted to expose you to a variety of irritating circumstances and chose to observe your reactions instead.

And he finally managed to break through your defenses on the last leg of the tour.

Tired and hungry, you teetered on the edge of a mental breakdown as Mokuba made you trek through the Game Design and Theory department of the 36th floor.

Brightly lit by the natural sunlight shinning through the high ceiling windows that stretched from one wall to the other, the enormous work floor of this department resembled more of an airport terminal than your typical office space. Except, to your dismay, rather than having equally expansive office spaces to accommodate the hoard of employees, the floor is jampacked with tiny cubicles that crowded tightly around each other with litters of sketches and heaps of beta model testers piled all over the floor.

With barely any space to move as is, you had to dodged around this chaotic maze to avoid head-on collisions as workers flew past with armfuls of colorful junk. And aside from the rainbow-puke like messes, the flashing of strobe lights, and human projectiles, what you hated the most about this place were the noises, THE DAMN NOISES! Shuffling papers, loud buzzing chatters, the inconsistent droning of prototype testers...

*Clang!*

Your eyes twitched and body flinched as thunderous bangs echoed around the room like Thor hammering down on Cap's vibranium shield.

_'Ugh!'_ Unable to mask your annoyance any longer, you bit down on your bottom lip as another round of mental banging sounded nearby. _'End this damn tour already!'_

"I think we're done for the day." Mokuba grinned as you shifted uncomfortably on your feet, growing visibility irritated at your anarchic surroundings.

* * *

Taking a deep breath as the refreshing, filtered air of the elevator cooled you down, your peaceful silence was suddenly disrupted as Mokuba cleared his throat in preparation for some questioning.

"If I may." Mokuba asked as he pressed the button for the main lobby, "Can you tell me what happened in the office today?"

"I'm... not sure I follow."

"Your meeting with my brother."

_'And? So what?'_

You shrugged, wanting to discuss Seto Kaiba no more than you'd like to take another tour of his company.

"I'm sorry sir, but I have no idea what you're talking about." You concluded, hoping your feigned ignorance would shut him up.

"What does Seto mean by _better luck next time_?" Mokuba continued, having no intentions on giving up his interrogation so easily.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"I'm asking you."

"How would I know what he's thinking?"

"What did you do?" Mokuba persisted, ignoring your increasingly hostile tone.

"I… stared at him I guess?" The upwards inflection of your tone mimicked your uncertainty of what exactly was Mokuba demanding of you.

"You stared at him?" He repeated, a bit taken aback. "But why?" he continued, probing you more out of his own curiosity than doing you dirty with another of his tricks; not many people can stand making direct eye contact with his big brother, let alone stare at him for prolonged periods of time, especially for someone as new and lowly as yourself.

_'What's with this kid?'_ Groaning in your head, exasperated by his unrelenting persistence, you sighed and held out a hand.

"Well let's see, he's tall, handsome, intelligent, wealthy, athletic..." You went on and on, sarcastically listing the generic ingredients of a Disney prince charming as you counted on your fingers, "...and I bet he smells nice too." You concluded, throwing all formalities out the window.

"Look. I am sorry Mr. Kaiba," Cutting Mokuba short as he launched off with another tirade of questions, you tucked your hair behind your ears and pursed your lips in defeat. "I bet your brother gets stared at all the time. See! there's one right now." You said and pointed to a girl in her Kaiba Corp uniform, gawking at one of Kaiba's holograms, "Why don't you try asking her instead?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, he does get stared at a lot," Mokuba agreed as he dismissed you with a nod.

"But I've never seen him stare back at anyone like that." You heard him grumble to himself as you exited the building.

Interpreting Mokuba's parting words to be a negative commentary on how you're going to be received at Kaiba Corp, you sighed as you realized how much Kaiba must have hated you for him to go so out of his way to torture you like this.

"Whatever, it'll be over with in a few months."

Erasing those thoughts from your mind as your stomach grumbled loudly, you stumbled into the nearest food stall and ordered a huge dinner having never been given a lunch break for the entire day.

* * *

"Good work Mokuba." Seto praised as his little brother explained how he was able to extract useful information from you with the clever little rouse he had devised.

"Sure thing!" Mokuba answered and tucked into his big brother's helping of rice and sashimi as Seto insisted on working through dinner.

Usually an expert at working through distractions, Seto had difficulty focusing on the reports before him as his thoughts continuously drifted back to the incident that had occurred this morning. Although his encounter with you only lasted for a brief moment, (as a matter of fact he's already forgotten your name), there's just something about you, this insignificant little intern, that irked him deeply.

_'Doesn't she know who I am? Doesn't she know her place?'_

Seto grumbled to himself, remembering how you had disrespected him with your mocking retorts and your brazen audacity.

'_Did she really think she's win against me?'_

Seto has never backed down from a challenge; be it the success of a business, a children's card game, or an impromptu staring competition.

_'Was it a draw?'_ Seto questioned suddenly, second guessing his victory.

_'No, I definitely won.'_ But what if Mokuba hadn't interrupted?

'_I would've still won, the girl was practically crying the whole time!'_

"Grrrr, why am I so bothered by that little nobody?"

Mokuba glanced up from his dinner, intrigued by his big brother's suddenly strange behavior as Seto mumbled to himself.

"Nii-sama?" He asked, seeing Seto with a vacant expression as he rested his chin over his loosely laced fingers. "You ok?"

Seto answered his little brother with silence.

Despite their close relationship, Seto has never opened up about any of his personal interests to Mokuba, preferring to keep them concealed.

Not exactly the best thing to do as it often lead to misunderstandings with Mokuba and...well, the rest of the world. Like how his unwillingness to express brotherly affection gave Noah an opportunity to step between them. Or fueling Joey's resentment of him with his endless taunting, but that's only because he saw wasted potential in the poor puppy. And that he finds the monkey-boy really funny too... funny because he's a sore loser, but still, funny.

"Hey big bro, what cha thinking about?" Mokuba asked again, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Huh? What?" Seto answered absentmindedly.

"Is it the new intern?" Mokuba continued, trying to breach the subject. "She's pretty cute huh?"

Eyes pensive, Seto combed through the memories from this morning.

'_Probably mediocre at best,' _He concluded, having nothing but a blurry mess to go by as he struggled to recall the details of your face.

However, despite his lack of recollection of everything else, there was one feature of yours that remained crystal clear in his mind.

'_Those eyes…'_

Seto stared blankly into the opposite wall as he recalled the droplets of tears that stained your cheeks and eyelashes as you greeted him in the blinding morning sun; the sultriness of your vivid grey eyes as you beheld him with your soul piercing gaze; and the lusciousness of your lip as yo-

"Who cares!" Seto said, snapping out of his daze as your once hazy facial features gradually sharpened in his memory. "I've seen better."

"You have?" Mokuba questioned, raising an eyebrow as he scrutinized Seto. Though there was no shortage of beautiful women at his big-brother's disposal, Mokuba was quite sure none had left such a strong impression as you had with just one short meeting.

"She's probably one of those crazy girls anyways." Seto grumbled. "They all are."

Through his many misfortunes with the opposite sex in both his professional and personal life, if there's one valuable lesson Seto had taken away from his interactions with women, is that the level of a woman's attractiveness is positively correlated to amount of bullshit he's going to have to deal with. Every girl he has ever been forced take out on dates with thus far either bored him to death, was scared to death of him, or were always vying for his attention like a pack of annoying, desperate ...

_''What did Mokuba call them?'_ Seto wondered, looking up at his ceiling,

"Oh yeah, THOTs." he scoffed.

That being said, Seto won't object to entertaining the occasional fangirl or super model that manage to evade past his hotel security; not because he enjoyed having sex with those shallow and overbearing girls per se, but what's more important is that he welcomed the workout because practice makes perfect after all.

Giving up for the evening, Seto closed his laptop and readied himself to leave. But upon seeing his little brother so entranced by whatever new anime that's playing on the TV, Seto decided rest for a moment and joined Mokuba on the couch instead.

Siting with his legs crossed and arms lounging over the backrest, Seto closed his eyes and leaned his head back as thoughts of you from this morning resurfaced in his mind again.

"Did Howe clear out the cubicle like I asked?" Seto ask suddenly.

"Err yes." Mokuba answered distractedly.

"Good, we don't want her getting too comfortable now, don't we?"


End file.
